Beckham relieved at Real qualification

David Beckham admitted it was a relief for Real Madrid to reach the knock-out phase of the Champions League.

But he was reluctant to proclaim that the Spanish club had now come out of what has been a lean spell by their standards.

Real's 3-0 victory at Roma - earned by a goal from Ronaldo and two from Luis Figo - saw them go through as Group D runners-up behind Bayer Leverkusen to the last 16 of the competition they have won a record nine times.

The England captain said: "To be honest, I think it's expected of Madrid and of its players to get through to the knock-out stages but I think it's a relief for the club and the players to have won this time."

Beckham was not prepared to say that the result might turn the season around for the Galacticos.

He added: "We will have to wait and see. Last year we had lots of games in a short period of time after we lost the Copa del Rey final.

"We lost momentum but hopefully that won't happen this year since we are now nine points behind Barcelona in the Liga and we are through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

"We cannot afford to go another season without winning anything."

Potential Real clash with London side

Real could be paired with London outfits Chelsea or Arsenal in the next round, although for the moment his former club Manchester United and Liverpool will not be on the agenda as - like Real - they all finished runners-up in their groups.

"I think it is going to be great whoever we play even if we don't get the two English teams," Beckham continued.

"When you get through to this stage of the competition there are no easy matches. Whoever we come up against will be tough."

The German side go through as group winners by virtue of a better head-to-head record with both teams finishing on 11 points.

A place in the UEFA Cup will be of little consolation to Kiev.

Last season's runners up Monaco moved to the top of the Group A table with an impressive 5-0 rout of Deportivo La Coruna.

La Coruna were playing purely for pride having only collected two points from their opening five games, and they were no match for a Monaco side fighting for their Champions League life.

The French side, runners up to Porto last season, were 3-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Ernesto Chevanton, Gael Givet and Javier Saviola.

Maicon grabbed the fourth 10 minutes after the break and Emmanuel Adebayor rounded off the scoring.

Lyon ravage Sparta

Lyon ensured they went through to the knockout stages as Group D winners after they also scored five in a one-sided game against Sparta Prague.

The French side had already qualified while Prague were guaranteed to finish bottom. A goal from Michael Essien and an Honorato Nilmar brace put the result beyond doubt before substitute Sylvain Idangar and Bryan Bergougnoux rounded off the scoring.

The top two in Group C were already decided with Juventus the runaway winners and Bayern Munich confirmed as runners up.

But the UEFA Cup spot was still up for grabs with both Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv going into the match on three points.

The Dutch side knew a win would guarantee them third spot by virtue of their superior head-to-head record, but in the end a draw with Bayern Munich was enough as Maccabi also finished with a point against Juventus.

Dutchman Roy Makaay put Bayern ahead but Ajax bounced back to take the lead through Tomas Galasek and Nicolae Mitea before Michael Ballack levelled for the German side.

Tel Aviv took the lead when Barukh Dego netted from the penalty spot, but Alessandro Del Piero preserved Juventus' unbeaten record with a second-half equaliser.